Indie reads I loved: Introducing What I didn’t Say, by Keary Taylor

Getting drunk homecoming night your senior
year is never a good idea, but Jake Hayes never expected it all to end with a
car crash and a t-post embedded in his throat.

His biggest regret about it all? What he never said to Samantha Shay. He’s been
in love with her for years and never had the guts to tell her. Now it’s too
late. Because after that night, Jake will never be able to talk again.

When Jake returns to his small island home, population 5,000, he’ll have to
learn how to deal with being mute. He also finds that his family isn’t limited
to his six brothers and sisters, that sometimes an entire island is watching
out for you. And when he gets the chance to spend more time with Samantha,
she’ll help him learn that not being able to talk isn’t the worst thing that
could ever happen to you. Maybe, if she’ll let him, Jake will finally tell her
what he didn’t say before, even if he can’t actually say it.

My thoughts:

This is such a simple yet complex story, it
sucks you in swiftly. Every page feels heartfelt and for me it really hit a
cord. I tend to avoid contemporary fiction, it’s often not my thing, but this
book caught me hook line and sinker. It’s written with a beautiful subtlety
that allows the characters to glow and I loved the innocence of the story. It’s
a believable YA novel that doesn’t rely on the usual tricks. This is a novel
I’d recommend for my friends with teenage daughters, it has a perfect mix of
family/strife/joy/love/laughter without any unnecessary additions that often
turn me off the current YA works. It’s a book you’ll re-read once a year and
happily recommend to others 😉

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